My First Shawl Finished: LaLa’s Simple Shawl in Plymouth Mushishi

I am super proud of myself. I finished my first shawl in twenty days, which feels pretty amazing considering I have two small people running around calling my name every five minutes.

I absolutely love this shawl. I love the yarn, the pattern, and how it all came together.

The yarn I used is Plymouth Yarn Mushishi. It is a worsted-weight yarn made from 95% wool and 5% silk. The skein contains 491 yards and weighs 250 grams. I used approximately 483 yards total and have about eight yards left in my stash. The colorway is 10 Grape, dye lot 62816. I purchased the yarn at Yvie’s in Alexandria, Alabama.

This yarn was perfect for this project. It is soft, bouncy, and a joy to work with, and I did not have any issues with splitting at all. I loved it so much that I have already added another skein to my wish list. I would really love to try the Pomegranate colorway next.

The pattern is LaLa’s Simple Shawl by Laura Linneman, which you can find here:
https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/lalas-simple-shawl

I knit the shawl using US 9 (5.5 mm) needles. The pattern is very beginner-friendly and easy to memorize, which makes it perfect for knitting in short bursts throughout the day.

I did run into a few hiccups along the way. At one point, I realized I might not have enough yarn to complete the bind-off, so I ripped back to the last knit section, removed a knit row, and continued. I also caught an extra stitch on one side during the lace section and had to frog back to the end of the previous knit section. Darn my OCD.

To add a little interest, I alternated the garter stitch sections, working four rows, then five rows, then back to four, and so on. That small change added texture without complicating the pattern.

After blocking, the finished shawl measures about five feet across. Even though it is knit with worsted-weight yarn, it has a light and airy feel. You can see through it just a bit, which is perfect for where I live. Alabama weather calls for layers that breathe, and this shawl fits that need beautifully.

You can see all of my notes and progress details on my Ravelry project page here:
https://www.ravelry.com/projects/yarning4asmile/lalas-simple-shawl

Here is the finished product, and I could not be happier with how it turned out.